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SUMMER 
Bermuda 

and 

Excerpts from TOM MOORE'S Bermudian Letters 
to His Mother 



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SUMMER 



IN 

BERMUDA 

and 

Excerpts from TOM MOORE'S 
Bermudian Letters 

TO 

His Mother 




M:"^ AUGUSTA BOSWORTH 



Published by M. A. Bosworth 
141 West i4Sth St., New York 

Copyrighted by M. A. Bosworth, 1912 

Entered at Stationers Hall, London, England 

Printed in U. S. A. 



Dedicated to Bermuda. 



Sketches with Pen and Camera 

by 

M. Augusta Bosworth 



s<r 



CONTENTS 




Summer in Bermuda . 


PAGE 

5 


Bermuda: Nature's Sanitarium 


9 


St. George's the Medieval 


15 


Sea Gardens 


26 


Hamilton the Modern . 


28 


Tom Moore and Walsingham 


33 


Excerpts from Tom Moore's 
Bermudian Letters to His 
Mother 


45 




Date Palms One Hundred and Fifty Years Old in 
the Public Gardens, St. George's. 



Bermuda as a Summer Resort 

THE Bermudas as a Winter Resort are noted 
the world over and need no further comment. 
As a '^ Summer Resort," however, they have 
been until recently ignorantly classed with the 
Tropics as being too hot for Summer consideration, 
therefore avoided. But they are not tropical, only 
semi-tropical; practically isolated in mid-ocean, 
swept by the Atlantic on the east and tempered by 
the Gulf Stream on the west, giving them an evenness 
of temperature the year round not to be found 
elsewhere, and making them quite as desirable in 
Summer as in Winter. During the months of July 
and xVugust the thermometer rarely ever goes 
beyond eighty in the middle of the day and the 
nights are always cool, so that sleeping is guaranteed. 
Another advantage for Summer tourists: the rates 
for traveling and boarding are much reduced from 
about the first of May until late in the Fall, thus 
making it an object for the tired and jaded teacher 
to rest away from crowded Northern Resorts. 

So far, I have chosen late Spring and Summer 
for my own trips, principally because I prefer warm 
weather for ocean travel, as then the sea is usually 
calm with but little danger of encountering storms 
or rough weather en route. Then, too, one can 



lounge about with comfort on deck without being 
obhged, as in cold weather, to wrap up in 
steamer rugs, which, I assure you, scores another 
point in favor of ''Summer." I have found May 
and June in Bermuda at that season of the year 
to have about the same temperature as New York- 
July I found much cooler, for Bermuda never suffers 
from extreme heat or cold as does the North. I was 
there in the month of July, 1911. At that time for 
days and nights the thermometer in the States 
stood over 100° F., without any let up; but in 
Bermuda it did not creep above 85° F. in the middle 
of the day, and the nights were always cool. I 
spent most of my time during that heated term out 
of doors with my camera, without any fear of sun- 
stroke, which I am told never occurs in that region. 
These Islands number about three hunch^ed and 
sixty-five, so the natives tell me, and the Group is 
about twenty-five miles long and scarcely three miles 
wide at any point ; a ledge or reef, as it were, spring- 
ing Aphrodite-like from the sea. This ledge or reef 
is divided and subcUvided by sounds, and innumer- 
able small bays dotted with little islands, reminding 
one of the celebrated Thousand Islands in the St. 
Lawrence River, with the same translucent waters 
surrounding them. I cannot attempt the impossi- 
ble by trying to describe the beauties of these islands, 
where everything luxuriates in the shape of vegeta- 
tion; the brush, not the pen, is the proper vehicle; or^ 
better yet, a pair of human lenses, upon which every 
inch of sea and land is a picture to photograph itself. 

6 



Does it not savor of Fairyland to speak of coral 
houses built upon coral islands? Well, such is the 
case down in Old Bermuda. The Islands are of 
coral formation and each little bungalow is built 
from blocks of coral sawed out of the ledges with 
the common saw, and are left exposed to the air to 
harden. After building, they are given a coat of 
whitewash to protect the coral from the weather. 
These little white houses shimmer in the sunlight 
in a setting of green and tropical bloom, contrasting 
with the gray of the ledges and rich coloring of their 
environment. 

The population is largely colored, but of quite a 
superior type. They are obliged by law to attend 
school, and they certainly make good use of their 
opportunities. Their voices are low and well modu- 
lated, and moreover their English is mostly gram- 
matical. They make fine servants and are alto- 
gether good citizens. 

One who has never visited Bermuda cannot 
readily understand the restful feeling that im- 
mediately takes possession of the tourist at landing 
upon this little Garden Spot of The World. The 
Bermudian greets you with a sunny smile and at 
once one feels friendly among friends. Then, too, 
the Restful Quiet! No autos; no electric cars; 
nothing to keep one's nerves on a tension every 
moment when out for a ramble. 

There are places all over the world that half 
fill the bill, but it is left to Bermuda to register the 
Whole. 




^ 



Bermuda: Nature's Sanitarium 

IT can safely be said that there is not another 
accessible spot on the face of the globe where 
''Nature" has done so much for the promotion 
of HEALTH and LONGEVITY as she has for these 
little ''Summer Isles." Situated as they are in mid- 
ocean, six hundred miles from the mainland, in a 
latitude below frost and above torrid heat, in the 
blending zone of the Gulf Stream and Atlantic 
Ocean, this speck of land, practically isolated on 
the broad ocean from the rest of the world, is but a 
verdured coral reef, scarcely three miles wide at any 
point from shore to shore, and so porous that it of 
itself affords a perfect drainage. Many of the cess- 
pools are cleansed with the rise and fall of the tide; 
in fact, the islands themselves seem to be connected 
with the sea through subterranean passages, for in 
all the caverns and grottos the waters rise and fall 
with the tide, and little fish find their way in and out 
of them. Dig where you may, deep enough to strike 
water, it will be found brackish and unfit for drinking 
purposes; so there can be no danger from contam- 
inated wells, as in many country places. Truly, I 
have never heard of but one well in all Bermuda, 
and that one is situated on the North Shore of St. 
George's Island. It is called "Lunn's Well," named 
after the man who dug it over three hundred years 
ago for watering cattle in case of drought. There 
is a legend hovering around this "Well" to the 



effect that whoever sips from it will be married 
before leaving Bermuda. The entire absence of 
fresh water streams and wells makes the Bermudian 
dependent upon rainfalls for his drinking supply. 
So you see. Nature's beverage is heaven's own 
brew, distilled through belts of ozone, falling in 
showers upon lime-coated waier sheds, filtering its 
way into stone tanks from whence it is brought 
forth clear as crystal, delicious to the taste as well 
as pure and soft, ready for my lady's bath. 

The air is a delightful tonic, as it must be sur- 
rounding hills and dales of well drained soil, neither 
is it polluted with smoke, nor made heavy by fog, 
nor even what we call hazy in the sunlight. It is 
an ideal spot for the camera, on account of this 
wonderful clearness of the atmosphere. No frost 
ever mars the perpetual verdure of the place, and 
the roses bloom the year around undisturbed by 
climatic conditions. When we take into considera- 
tion all these natural advantages it must follow 
without question, that the air is pure and health 
giving. ''For the air breathes upon us here most 
sweetly." So sang Shakespere, and Tom Moore 
followed with his ''Snow Spirit": 

"No, ne'er did the wave in its element steep 

An island of lovelier charm; 
It blooms in the giant embrace of the deep 

Like Hebe in Hercules' arms! 
The tint of your bowers is balm to the eye ; 

Their melody balm to the ear; 
But the fiery planet of day is too high, 

And the Snow Spirit never comes here!" 

lO 



Prior to the ''Snow Spirit" he wrote to a friend 
just before leaving Ireland, and a few days before 
sailing for the Bermudas, ''I find Bermuda is a 
place where Physicians order their patients when 
no other air will keep them alive." Moore, during 
his stay there was constantly alluding to the good 
effects of the climate upon his health. 

Mark Twain, returning from his last trip to 
Bermuda, where he spent a great deal of time during 
his life, and only a short period before his death, 
said to a reporter on board the steamer, just before 
landing, ''It always does me good to go to Bermuda." 
In 1877, Mark Twain wrote: "Bermuda is the right 
country for a jaded man to 'loaf in. There are no 
harassments; the deep peace and quiet of the 
country sink into one's body and bones and give his 
conscience a rest, and chloroform the legion of in- 
visible small devils that are always trying to white- 
wash his hair." The above quotation was taken 
from "Bermuda, Past and Present," written by Mr. 
Walter Hayward, a Bermudian by birth, who knows 
his subject well. It is an interesting history of the 
place, finely illustrated, and written in a chatty 
style that at once attracts the attention of the reader. 

Malaria is unheard of in Bermuda, and I can 
readily believe it, for the air is full of that wonderful 
something called ozone, and people suffering from 
hay-fever in the States, during the summer months, 
are free from all its disagreeable effects while in that 
climate. Physicians are also sending patients there 
for heart trouble. 



II 



We all know that air, the ^'Breath of Life," is 
quite as important to health as food; in fact, more 
so. Man can fast for clays and is often the better 
for it, but few of us can live long under unsanitary 
conditions without feeling their bad effects. That 
being the case, it behooves us to choose spots where 
the air is kept pure by sanitary conditions, and avoid 
as much as possible contaminated locations. 

Slowly it is being found out that Bermuda is 
not only a place for sight seeing, but a place to 
LIVE. A few who go to see, return to stay, recog- 
nizing the beneficial effects of the climate. It should 
be a haven to the nerve strained New Yorker, for 
Bermuda is suburban New York, with a sea trip of 
only two days lying between them, just enough to 
exhilarate, and not enough to tire; with palatial 
steamers equipped with every home comfort and no 
end of enjoyment en voyage. 

Now what more can be said in favor of Bermuda, 
''Nature's Sanitarium"? A coral reef surrounded 
by water as pure and limpid as dew; the earth a 
filter; a sun that ne'er lets a day pass without its 
smile, and the air ozone itself. Get the Bermuda 
''habit" when things begin to go wrong physically. 
Instead of calling in the doctor, just board a Bermu- 
dian steamer and take a week or ten days off; I 
assure you that nerves will return in tune ready for 
business. Rest and mental relaxation, with healthy 
surroundings, are the true body-builders. 

I hope I have been able, in the above sketch, to 
make clear to my reader the value of Bermuda as a 



NATURAL SANITARIUM. Perhaps, all has been 
said upon the subject that could possibly be thought 
of, and by those more competent than myself; and 
yet it seems to me in all that I have read up to the 
present time, outside of statistics, that the Pictur- 
esque descriptions so far overbalance the Thera- 
peutical, which is the one most important as well 
as most interesting to invalids, that I trust I have 
made my subject, ''HExVLTH," predominate, hold- 
ing it as the key-note into which all the dominant 
beauties of Bermuda find a resting place. The Ever- 
beautiful is, of course, an indispensable adjunct to 
the healing process; for an uplifted soul will draw 
the physical into higher vibrations, and stir up 
dormant organs far better than any bottled tonic. 
So far, my own trips to Bermuda have been 
taken either after an illness, or when on the verge 
of a nervous breakdown; yet I have scarcely landed 
before I feel the beneficial effects of the air upon 
my overstrained nerves. Ariel must still hover 
over each ship as it arrives, and lend his enchanted 
wings to all; for joy at sight of land is depicted on 
each face, and both sick and well seemingly respond 
to his invisible magic. 




13 





o 



St. George's the Medieval 

THE first glimpse of land that presents itself 
to the tourist, when sighting the Bermudas, 
is the rock-bound coast of St. George's loom- 
ing up in the distance so grandly cold, that one 
might readily imagine himself approaching a New 
England shore rather than the "Summer Isles/' 
but a nearer range breaks the spell; and as we 
wended our way into the harbor, as was our priv- 
ilege four years ago on the ''Prince George," the 
scene changed, and summer greeted us on all sides. 
We leave the description of the harbor to Tom 
Moore : 

''Nothing can be more romantic than the little 
harbor of St. George. The number of beautiful islets, 
the graceful little boats, gliding forever between 
the islets, and seeming to sail from one cedar-grove 
to another, form altogether the sweetest miniature 
of nature that can be imagined. The water is so 
clear around the islands that the rocks are seen 
beneath to a very great depth; and as we entered 
the harbor, they appeared to us so near the surface 
that it seemed impossible we should not strike them. 
There is no necessity, of course, for heaving the lead, 
and the negro pilot, looking down at the rocks from 
the bow of the ship, takes her through this difficult 

IS 



navigation with a skill and confidence which seemed 
to astonish some of the oldest sailors." 

Again, as it was in the past, before the up-to-date 
''Leviathans" were dreamed of, St. George's will 
become the docking place for Bermudian steamers; 
for as soon as the St. George's channel is completed 
all shipping will be enabled to put into this beautiful 
''Land-Locked" harbor directly from the sea and 
dock at once ; and the passengers bound for Hamilton 
will then make the trip inland the rest of the way, 
a distance of twelve miles, without being obliged, 
as at present, to be piloted along the coast through 
an intricate passage to within a short distance of 
Hamilton, and while at sea transferred to a lighter 
for the rest of the voyage; as the entrance to Ham- 
ilton harbor, like St. George's, is too shallow and 
rockbound for large boats to pass through in safety. 
The twelve mile sail, however, inside the Reefs is 
something to be remembered; as the slowly moving 
boat gives one an opportunity to take in at close 
range the entire north shore, a view that could 
not be had otherwise, and which quite compensates 
for the disagreeable transfer to the lighter later on. 

But here we are in the quaint little town of St. 
George's, replete with history and romance, once 
the capital and social center of Bermuda. 

Tlie town is built from the water's front upon 
sloping hills, irregularly laid out in lanes and alleys 
bent in no particular direction and surrounding 
little walled-in white houses so close together that 
it would seem almost possible to shake hands from 

i6 



window to window. But oh, so beautiful ! Oleanders 
and roses climbing over the garden walls to bid the 
stranger welcome ; and the stranger is truly welcome, 
for the Bermudian is the soul of hospitality. But 
if one finds the Old Town interesting in passing 
through it up the hills, what words can be brought 
to mind to express the beauty of the scene at their 
summit. Looking down upon the irregular terraces, 
dotted with miniature houses with their little white 
roofs peeping out from beds of bloom and rich 
foliage, and over the harbor presents a panoramic 
view never to be forgotten. In some ways, the view 
from the hills over the town reminds me of a pic- 
ture of the walled-in city of Jerusalem that I 
used to admire as a child in the old family Bible. 
Certainly, St. George's is not of the present, and 
I am wondering how long the vandals of the age 
will hold intact this little town. Happy is the 
stranger who has seen it in all its medieval quaint- 
ness, for already, for commercial reasons, they are 
beginning to remodel ; adding here and there a story 
to some old landmark, and thereby destroying the 
contour of the place. 

St. George's has many historical spots of world- 
wide interest; among them is the remodeled ^'Somers 
Inn," facing the water. It is the house in which 
the Duke of Clarence, afterward King William IV, 
lived when attached to the English Navy. The 
ground floor of the ''Inn" has not been altered, and 
the first flight of stairs and balusters are the same 
as when, over one hundred years ago, the Duke 

17 



made it his home. Bermuda seems to be a favored 
spot for ''Sailor Kings/' as the present King George V 
was at one time stationed there, and the Bermudian 
Lady takes great pride in relating her experiences 
with his Royal Highness in the mazy dance. It is 
also the same building in which Tom Moore had 
his office while in Bermuda, and strangers are intro- 
duced to the door through which he passed to and 
from his office, as Registrar of the Court of Vice- 
Admiralty. 

At the base of Rose Hill, a short distance from the 
St. George Hotel, are the ruins of the home of Nea, 
the beautiful Bermudian girl to whom Moore poured 
out his ardent love in poetry. However, the stories 
are so conflicting regarding their romance that it 
might be well not to take his ''Odes to Nea" too 
seriously; for the poet loves more the power of 
expressing love than "love" itself: 



"Nay, tempt me not to love again, 

There was a time when love was sweet; 
Dear Nea! had I known thee then. 

Our souls had not been slow to meet. 
But, oh, this weary heart hath run. 

So many a time, the rounds of pain, 
Not even for thee, thou lovely one. 

Would I endure such pangs again." 



In^the center of the town is situated the venera- 
ble St. Peter's, the oldest church in Bermuda, 
erected in 1612. Its communion service was pre- 

^9 




ffi 



sented to the parish in 1684 by King WilUam III, 
and its mural tablets tell strange tales of by-gone 
days. Leaving St. Peter's and passing along York 
Street, we come to the Public Gardens, which are 
filled with rare plants, flowering shrubs and trees; 
among them are date palms over one hundred and 
fifty years old. To the left of the York Street 
entrance is a slab of stone in memory of Sir George 
Somers, after whom the town was named, bearing 
this inscription: 



Near this spot 

was interred in the year 1610 

The Heart of the Heroic Admiral 

Sir George Somers, Kt., 

who nobly sacrificed his life 

to carry succor 

to the infant and suffering Plantation 

now 

The State of Virginia. 

To preserve his fame to future ages 

near the Scene of his Memorable 

Shipwreck of 1609. 

The Governor and Commander-in-Chief 

of this Colony for the time being 

caused this Tablet to be erected, 

1876. 



Recently a suitable monument has been erected 
at the main entrance of the Gardens in commemora- 
tion of Sir George and the Tercentenary of Ber- 
muda. Continuing from the Public Gardens through 




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York Street, one strikes the ''Cut Road" that leads 
to a high elevation from which may be seen the 
prettiest view of the town and harbor that can be 
imagined. The ' ' Cut Road " is also one of Bermuda's 
most beautiful driveways, as well as a delightful 
promenade ; it is walled in upon a high embankment 
with the harbor at its base, affording an extended 
prospect of both water and land, besides having 
many dwellings of historical note on its route. 
The '' Caledonia," at present the home of Captain 
W. E. Meyers, is one of the old Landmarks. It was 
used as a naval hospital over "a century ago; the 
grounds around it are spacious and well filled with 
rare plants and trees of all descriptions; in fact, 
it is a little wilderness of tropical growth. From 
there on around the extreme eastern end of the 
Island and along the north shore are many other 
places of historical interest, such as ''Buildings 
Bay," where was built the ship "Deliverance" 
that carried provisions to the Virginia Colony in 1609. 

It would be impossible in this short sketch to 
make a note of all the interesting places in and 
around the Island of St. George. Its natural situa- 
tion caused it to be the first of the Bermudas to be 
settled, and history and tradition linger there as in 
no other part of the Islands. 

It is hard to realize that such a little place can 
contain so much. Shakespere gives a graphic 
description of its smallness in the second act (jf the 
"Tempest," when Sebastian, brother to the King 
of Naples, remarked after they had bec^n ship- 

23 



wrecked upon this Island: ''I think he (the king) 
will carry this island home in his pocket and give 
it his son for an apple." 

Nothing can be more exhilarating than a stroll 
around the Island of St. George's, always cool and 
comfortable; swept by ocean breezes on the north 
and east, with the picturesque bay and harbor on 
the south and west, forming one of the most beau- 
tiful and interesting islands of the Group. 

"Believe me, Lady, when the zephyrs bland 
Floated our bark to this enchanted land. 
These leafy isles upon the ocean thrown. 
Like studs of emerald o'er a silver zone, 
Not all the charm, that ethic fancy gave 
To blessed arbors o'er the western wave, 
Could wake a dream, more soothing or sublime. 
Of bowers ethereal, and the Spirit's clime." 




24 



The Sea Gardens 

AMONG our most pleasing thoughts of Bermuda 
are the Sea Gardens. Looking down through 
a glass-bottomed boat, with the sun's rays 
illuminating the transparent waters, one gets a 
panoramic view of ocean scenery that is almost 
dazzling in its brilliancy. One might readily imagine 
oneself sailing in air and looking down over a 
fairyland,' instead of floating on water, peering into 
its depths. The Bermudian sea bottom, like the 
land, is of coral formation, with hills, dales and 
grottos of the same. There are diminutive forests 
of autumn tinted seaweed, as delicate as the fern; 
sprays and etchings of coral, alive with workers, half 
hidden by the seaweed, that tone down the bare 
white walls of coral and give finish to the sketch. 
Then the beautifully colored sea anemones, clinging 
to the sea-rod, moving their tentacles like the petals 
of the chrysanthemum in the breeze, which they 
resemble. Now and then one gets a vanishing view 
of a startled azure colored angel fish with its diapha- 
nous fins, resembling wings, scurrying into some 
hidden nook, and so lovely that it may well be called 
the angel of the sea. 

The sensation is peculiar when at first looking 
down through the glass, especially when passing 

26 



over a high peak that seems dangerously near, 
owing to the clearness of the water; but in reality 
it is many feet lower than it appears. Another pull 
or two brings us over dizzy depths. So the scene 
changes. After a time the imagination becomes so 
stimulated that nothing can be a surprise, not even 
a water nymph beckoning us to her enchanted 
garden. 



' ' Full fathom five thy father lies ; 

Of his bones are coral made; 
Those are pearls that were his eyes: 

Nothing of him that doth fade, 
But doth suffer a sea-change 
Into something rich and strange. 
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: 
Hark! now I hear them — ding-dong, bell." 

— Tempest. 




27 



Hamilton the Modern 

THE towns of Hamilton and St. George's, from 
a bird's-eye view, resemble each other very 
much; both are built to the water's edge 
.around inland bays, giving to them a crescent shape. 
However, Hamilton at close range is quite the re- 
verse of St. George's; its streets, are wide, airy and 
regularly laid out, giving it a modern appearance, as 
well as affording fine driveways. The houses are 
somewhat varied in architecture but all are con- 
structed from the same coral-rock that furnishes 
the building material for the rest of the islands. 
The houses, like all Bermudian Homes, are sur- 
rounded by gardens filled with tropical trees, flower- 
ing vines and shrubs, enclosed within white stone 
walls, thereby forming a framework to the picture 
that is most pleasing to the eye. These gardens are 
especially attractive when the Ponciana is in flower. 
This tree grows very large with wide spreading 
branches, and when in blossom has the appearance 
of an immense bouquet; the flowers shading from 
a deep red to a more delicate pink tinged with 
yellow; its trunk and branches are of a light mouse 
colored gray and exceedingly smooth, with large 
fern-like leaves, forming a soft background for its 
prolific bloom. Only Summer Tourists have the 

28 



privilege of seeing the Ponciana in its glory, as its 
''bloom" belongs to the months of June, July, 
August and September, when it is said to be most 
perfect, 

Hamilton boasts of one of the finest cathedrals 
in the world. It is of gothic structure, erected upon 
high ground and from its Tower may be seen an 
extended view of the surrounding country. There 
is a sleekness about Hamilton showing the handi- 
work of man that no other part of Bermuda pos- 
sesses; it has the detailed finish of a Meissonier 
rather than the delicate touch of Nature that lends 
such charm to the rest of the Islands. 

Hamilton, though small, for indeed there would 
be no room for a large city on these Lilliputian Isles, 
is the metropolis of the Bermudas as well as the seat 
of government and headquarters of the military. 
A combination that is apt to call forth all that is 
socially exhilarating; and life there, I am told, is 
passing gay. It is the Spot for all-round "Sport," 
both on land and water with its ''Yacht Clubs," 
"Golf Clubs," "Cricket Clubs," etc., etc. 

Hamilton is multum in parvo. One need not 
worry if, when starting for Bermuda, he is obliged 
to pack his grip and board a steamer on short notice, 
for the shopping there is quite equal to that of a 
Northern city and in some respects better, especiahy 
if linens and laces are desired. 

Ah, well, Hamilton is beautiful! The same 
translucent waters and life-giving air surround it 
as they do the rest of Bermuda, and it is left to the 

29 



visitor to choose his "Hunting Ground." If you are 
out for a "Good Time" and no end of "Sport," 
then Hamilton is the Place for YOU; but if one en- 
joys, as I do, roaming bareheaded over the country 
with all the freedom of a North American Indian, 
taking in Nature as it was three hundred years ago, 
then by all means make St. George's your stopping 
place. Five minutes' walk from an}^ part of the old 
town will bring you into open country and the 
ocean front where it is always cool and delightful. 

In speaking of places, I have confined myself 
to a very small portion of the islands ; but Hamilton 
and St. George's, being the hotel centers, make 
them^ without doubt, the objective points to which 
the tourist fiist turns his attention; however, don't 
imagine that they are all of Bermuda, No, indeed! 
Bermuda is one continuous surprise to the stranger; 
with its delightful driveways, shore scenes^ and 
wonderful vegetation. 

One of Tom Moore's letters, dated March 19, 
1804, describes most beautifully "'What they call' 
the country parts of the islands." 

Bermuda, especially St. George's, seems to have 
changed but very little since the "Bard of Erin," 
and, we might truthfully add, the Bard of Bermuda, 
played the role of citizen there for a few months 
over a century ago: 



"Oh, what a tempest whirled us hither! 

;|: * * * * 



But, bless the little fairy isle! 
3° . 



How sweetly, after all our ills, 
We saw the dewy morning smile 

Serenely o'er its fragrant hills; 
And felt the pure elastic flow 
Of airs, that round this Eden blow 
With honey freshness, caught by stealth 
Warm from the very lips of health. 
Oh! could you view the scenery dear. 

That now beneath my window lies. 
You'd think that Nature lavished here 

Her purest wave, her softest skies, 
To make a heaven for Love to sigh in. 
For bards to live and saints to die in." 




31 




K 



m 



CO 






Tom Moore and Walsingham 

As we entered the closed Old Walsingham 
Mansion, opened now and again for visitors, 
and walked through the bare and deserted 
rooms where Tom Moore spent many of his idle 
hours, the sad strains of one of his melodies seemed 
to float through the air accompanied by our echoing 
footsteps. 

"The harp that once thro' Tara's halls 

The soul of music shed, 
Now hangs as mute on Tara's walls 

As if that soul were fled. 
So sleeps the pride of former days, 

So glory's thrill is o'er. 
And hearts, that once beat high for praise, 

Now feel that pulse no more." 

From the Mansion we found our way to the 
secluded dell where stands the Old Calabash Tree 
surrounded by caves, limpid pools and Mangrove 
tangle, under which was Tom's trysting place 
with the Muse. 



"She opened, with her golden key, 
The casket where my memory lays 

Those little gems of poesy. 

Which time has saved from ancient days ! 

33 



Under this tree, also, he poured out his home- 
sick heart ; for at times, with all his rollicking spirit^ 
Tom was a homesick boy. 



" 'Twas thus by the shade of a calabash-tree, 

With a few who could feel and remember like me, 

The charm, that to sweeten my goblet I threw, 

Was a tear to the past and a blessing to you ! 

Oh! say, do you thus, in the luminous hour 

Of wine and of wit, when the heart is in flower 

And shoots from the lip, under Bacchus's dew, 

In blossoms of thought ever springing and new! 

Do you sometimes remember, and hallow the brim 

Of your cup with a sigh, as you crown it to him. 

Who is lonely and sad in these valleys so fair. 

Who would pine in Elysium, if friends Avere not there." 



But Walsingham, outside of its Tom Moore 
reminiscences, is most attractive in itself to those 
who love Nature in a primitive state. It is full of 
caves and grottos covered with wild flowers and tan- 
gles of vine ; in fact it is a veritable jungle of trees and 
shrubs of all descriptions '^ running riot." Nowhere 
did I see the Century Plant grow in such profusion 
as at Walsingham; there they cluster around rock- 
bound pools to the water's edge, and reflect them- 
selves as in a mirror. In fact, the Bermudian waters 
are the principal charm of the Islands ; their phenom- 
enal clearness repeats every object in untold bril- 
liancy, making them a real Fairyland. 

34 



51 




"^-TiS-'Er-.r-- 



"While far reflected, o'er the wave serene, 
Each wooded island sheds so soft a green, 
That the enamored keel, with whispering play. 
Through liquid herbage seemed to steal its way." 



The Stalactite Grotto, also on the Walsingham 
Estate, is one of the most beautiful, if not the most, 
of all the Bermudian lake-caverns, and easy of 
access. Its mouth or entrance is guarded by huge 
stalactites, that with a stretch of imagination might 
remind one of a grove of trees with inverted roots, 
through which it is necessary to .pass in order to 
enter the Grotto, after which, stepping down upon 
a natural platform or wharf, may be found a small 
boat moored in readiness to convey sightseers 
through a labyrinth of stalactites brilliantly lighted 
by electricity. The scene as it presents itself is 
splendid beyond description. The electric bulbs are 
so artistically arranged in and around diaphanous 
bits of crystal that all the colorings of the rainbow 
are displayed. In fact, each bulb filters its own 
little rainbow and reflects itself, arc-like, in the 
transparent waters beneath, where beautifully col- 
ored fish may be seen gliding about, apparently as 
if encased in an aquarium. The picture is doubled 
by these reflections, giving to the beholder a sensa- 
tion of being suspended between two gorgeous 
scenes, the reflection even more brilliant than the 
real. Then, too, there is the boatman, another pic- 
ture among pictures, standing in the bow of his boat 
with upturned arms and bronzed Neapolitan face, 

36 



intently gazing at the land-marks by which he 
steers his little craft, lightly touching here and 
there a pendant as he weaves in and out among 
them so smoothly that scarcely any motion is per- 
ceptible. What a scene for an artist! and yet no 
artist could handle it, not even a Bouguereau, with 
all his genius for coloring. 
BERMUDA defies ART. 




37 




o 



I-H 

5 
O 

< 



Thomas Moore 

Poet 

THOMAS MOORE was bora on May 28, 1779, 
in Augier Street, Dublin, under the reign of 
George III. In 1794 he entered Trinity Col- 
lege, from which he took his degree. In 1799, Moore 
left Dublin for London, in order to become a ''Tem- 
plar," but he soon found the legal profession distaste- 
ful, and gave it up altogether. His friend, Lord 
Moira, obtained for him the position of Registrar at 
the Admiralty Court of Bermuda, and on September 
25, 1803, he took passage on the frigate 'Thseton," 
sailing from Portsmouth, which landed him at Nor- 
folk, Virginia. From thence he sailed to Bermuda, 
arriving there in the early part of January, 1804. 
Such is a brief sketch of the life of Moore from birth 
to Bermuda. 

Moore's Bermudian letters are so accurate and 
picturesquely worded that I take pleasure in intro- 
ducing them to my readers, knowing they are not 
easy of access. 

The fohowing excerpts are taken from /'Memoirs, 
Journal and Correspondences of Thomas Moore," 
edited by Lord John Russeh, M.P., London, 1853, 
who says "Mr. Moore was one of those men whose 
genius was so remarkable that the world ought to 
be acquainted with the daily current of his life, and 
the lesser traits of his character." 

39 



Bermuda, Jan. 19, 1804. 

My darling Mother: 

. . . These little islands of Bermuda form certainly 
one of the prettiest and most romantic spots that I 
could ever have imagined, and the descriptions which 
represent it as a place of fairy enchantment are very 
little beyond the truth. From my window now as I 
write, I can see five or six different islands, the most 
distant not a mile from the other, and separated by the 
clearest, sweetest colored sea you can conceive; for the 
water here is so singularly transparent, that, in coming 
in, we could see the rocks under the ship quite plainly. 
These little islands are thickly covered with cedar groves, 
through the vistas of which you catch a few pretty white 
houses, which my poetical short-sightedness always 
transforms into temples; and I often expect to see 
Nymphs and Graces come tripping from them. ... I 
shall tell you at once that it is not worth while to remain 
here. ... I have entered upon my business, however, 
... I have seen, too, a little more of the world, have 
got an insight into American character and affairs, have 
become more used to inconveniences and disappoint- 
ments, have tried my nerves and resolutions a little, and 
I think very considerably improved my health, for I do 
not remember ever to have been more perfectly well 
than I am at present. All these advantages are to be 
calculated, and as I have hopes that my darling father 
and you will consider it in the same favorable light and 
not feel much disappointed at the damper our expecta- 
tions have experienced. ... In closing my letter now 
it is a very uncomfortable feeling to think that, perhaps, 
not a word I have written will reach you; however. 
Heaven speed it! . . . God bless you, sweet mother for 
your own, own affectionate 

T. M. 

40 



Bermuda, 

January 24, 1804. 



My dearest Mother: 



. . . You cannot conceive how much the change 
of scene and climate has improved my health ; and 
though the pecuniary value of the situation is not 
enough to authorize my stay here, yet I have derived 
quite enough of pleasure and instruction from the step 
to make me by no means regret having undertaken it. 
Dear, good darlings at home, how I long to hear of you: 
oh! think what a painful interval it is, sweet mother, to 
have been five months without a word from home. I 
could hardly have hoped to bear it so well, but we shall 
all meet soon again, please Heaven! and be happy; 
and the talking over the past will sweeten the present, 
and the absence we have endured will endear us more 
closely to each other. It is now near twelve o'clock. 
I have just returned from a grand turtle feast, and am 
full of callipash and Madeira: the ship that takes this 
is to depart before daybreak and I shall hardly have 
time enough to send it to the Captain ; but in full trust 
and expectation that you will receive the other letter 
I have written, in which I have told a few more particu- 
lars. I shall kiss you, in fancy, dear mother, and have 
done, giving a thousand loves to good father and my 
own Kate and Nell. God bless you. I shall take every 
opportunity of writing. Yours, yours, most affection- 
ately, darling mother. 

T. M. 



41 



St. George's, Bermuda, 

February, 17, 1804. 



[y dearest Mother: 



Every ship that comes, I look with impatience to 
as bringing me some intelligence from some friends at 
home; but I am still disappointed, and it is now five 
months since I saw the last dear paper that brought the 
odour of home on it to me. . . . My health has never 
been more perfect or regular than at present; indeed, it 
is almost impossible to be ill in such a delicious climate 
as this island enjoys in winter. Roses are in full bloom 
here now, and my favorite green peas smoke every day 
upon the table. I have been extremely fortunate here 
(as indeed Providence seems to please I should be every 
where) in conciliating friendship, and interesting those 
around me in my welfare. The Admiral, Sir Andrew 
Mitchell, has insisted upon my making his table my 
own during my stay here. . . . They threaten me here 
with impeachment, as being in a fair way to make 
bankrupts of the whole island. There has been nothing 
but gaiety since I came, and there never was such a 
furore for dissipation known in the town of St. George's 
before. The music parties did not long keep up, because 
they found they Avere obliged to trust to me for their 
whole orchestra; but the dances have been innumerable, 
and still continue with very great spirit indeed. The 
women dance in general extremely well, though, like 
Dogberry's "writing and spelling" it "comes by nature 
to them," for they never have any instructions, except, 
by the kindness of fortune, when some flying dancing- 
master happens to be wrecked and driven ashore on the 
island. Poor creatures! I feel real pity for them: 
many of them have hearts for a more favorable sphere; 
but they are here thrown together in a secluded nook 
of the world, where they learn all the corruptions of 

42 



human nature without any of its consolations or orna- 
ments. . . . God bless you all, all, for your truly and 
ever, 

Tom. 



Bermuda, 

March, 19, 1804. 

My dearest Mother: 

. . . Oh! darling Mother, six months now, and I 
know as little of home as of things most remote from my 
heart and recollections. There is a ship expected here 
daily from England, and I flatter myself with hopes you 
may have taken advantage of the opportunity, and 
that to-morrow, perhaps, may bring me the intelligence 
I pine for. The signal post, which announces when any 
vessels are in sight of the islands is directly before my 
window, and often do I look to it with heart sick "from 
hope deferred"; I am, however, well and in spirits; the 
flow of health I feel bids defiance to melancholy; and 
though now and then a sigh for home comes over me, I 
soften it with sweet hopes, and find in the promises of 
my sanguine heart enough to flatter away such thoughts. 
There have been as many efforts at gaiety here as I 
could possibly have expected in so secluded a nook of 
the world. We have a ball or two every week, and I 
assure you that the weather is by no means too hot 
for them; for we have had some days so cold, that I 
almost expected to see a fall of snow, miraculous as that 
would be in a region so near the sun as this is. A week 
or two since I rode into "what they call" the country 
parts of the island: nothing could be more enchanting 
than the scenery they showed me. 

The road laA' for many miles through a thick shaded 

43 



alley of orange trees and cedars; which opened now 
and then upon the loveliest colored sea you can imagine, 
studded with little woody islands, and all in animation 
with sail-boats. Never was anything so beautiful but, 
indeed, the mission I went upon was by no means so 
romantic as my road. I was sent to swear a man to the 
truth of a Dutch invoice he had translated. "Oh! 
what a falling off is there." Indeed, I must confess that 
the occupations of my place are not those of the most 
elegant nature: I have to examine all the skippers, 
mates, and seamen, who are produced as witnesses 
in the causes of captured vessels. I should not, you 
may be sure, think a moment of the inconveniences of 
the situation, if the emoluments were anything like a 
compensation for them; but they are not; and accord- 
inglv, dear mother, you will soon have me with you 
again. About May, I dare say I shall be able to leaA^e 
Bermuda; and I shall endeavor, if my purse will compass 
it, to see a little more of America than before I had an 
opportunity of doing; so that, about the end of summer, 
darling mother, you may look to the signal post for your 
Tom, who will bring you back a sun burnt face, a heart 
not the worse for wear, and a purse, like that of most 
honest fellows, as empty as a richer fellow's head! Never 
mind, though! I am young and free, and the world is a 
field for me still. AVhile I have such motives for exertion 
as you, my dear father, and sisters, I may say "warring 
angels combat on my side." 

I have just time to close my letter in a hurry, as the 
vessel is on point of sailing. God bless you, my sweet 
mother, my own dear father, and good, good little girls. 
. . . Give my dearly remembered Joice the best wishes 
of my heart; and to all those who love or recollect me, 
say everything kind that you can imagine me to feel. 
Again Heaven bless you all, for your own, 

Tom. 

44 



New York, May 7, 1804. 
My dearest Mother: 

I have just time to say, here I am after a passage 
of nine" days from Bermuda; never was better; and the 
novelty of this strange place keeps me in a bustle of 
spirits and curiosity. The oddest things I have seen yet, 
however, are young Buonaparte and his bride (M, 
Jerome Buonaparte and Miss Paterson). My plans are 
not settled yet. Captain Douglas, of the Boston frigate, 
who brought me here, sails in a few days for Norfolk, 
whither I shall accompany him; and my intention is, if 
I can manage it, to come up by land through the States, 
and rejoin him at Halifax, from whence I believe he will 
be sent to England. . . . I go to the theatre this evening, 
and to a concert to-morrow evening. Such a place! such 
a people! barren and secluded as poor Bermuda is, I 
think it a paradise to any spot in America that I have 
seen. 

If there is less barrenness of soil here, there is more 
than enough barrenness in intellect, taste, and all in 
which heart is concerned ... I have no more time; 
my heart is full of the prospect of once more seeing and 
embracing you, dear mother, good father, and my own 
Kate and Ellen. God bless you. 

Your own Transatlantic Tom. 



Aboard the Boston, 
Sandy Hook, 30 Miles from N. Y. 

Friday, May 11, 1804. 

My darling Mother: 

■ When I left Bermuda I could not help regretting 
that the hopes which took me thither could not be even 
half realised, for I should love to live there, and you 

45 



would like it too, dear mother; and I think, if the situa- 
tion would give me but a fourth of what I was so de- 
ludingly taught to expect, you should all have come to 
me; and though separated from the rest of the world, 
we should have found in that quiet spot, and under that 
sweet sky, quite enough to counterbalance what the 
rest of the world could give us. But I am still to seek, 
and can only hope that I may find at last. . . . Kiss 
them all round for me, Father, Kate, and Nell together. 

Your own, 

Tom. 



"Farewell to Bermuda, and long may the bloom 
Of the lemon and myrtle its valleys perfume; 
May spring to eternity hallow the shade, 
Where Ariel has warbled and Waller has straved." 




46 



Life to the Northerner in Bermuda is a dream from 
which he is not fairly awakened until docked and 
landed in New York City, and then, like Tom Moore, he 
wishes he might return. "And though set about from 
the rest of the world, we should have found in that 
quiet spot, and under that sweet sky, quite enough to 
counterbalance what the rest of the world could give us." 

M. Augusta Bosworth, 
"SEE BERMUDA AND LIVE." 



Art Color Ptg. Co., New York. 

47 






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